Megan (Mimi Moon) Hayward on Self Care During Menopause

Self-care during menopause is a hot topic, and big business, lets face it. Women have been led to believe that aging is bad and in particular the menopause transition is the used by date for us as women. However, menopause is a wonderful privilege and self-care for your body and mind with Movement, Mindset, Modify® practices will empower you to challenge the stigma, trust yourself, and realise that you have all you need inside of you. Your strength, beauty, sense of humour, and future health, only get more resilient when you implement these practices.

Women continue to be over-represented in several major health concerns including, dementia, cardiovascular disease, mental health, chronic musculoskeletal conditions, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, obesity, abnormal cholesterol levels and type 2 diabetes, all of which can be attributed somewhat to declining estrogen during menopause and lifestyle choices, the best part is these conditions can simply be managed or eliminated with good regular Movement, Mindset, Modify® habits.

The Ultimate Form of Self-Care in My Book is Movement.

As in the simple act of moving your body. You can spend lots of time and money on superficial solutions, but this one can be free, and it is accessible to everybody at any ability and fitness level.

Daily and diverse movement over your week is essential to good sleep, your ability to focus, to connect with others, maintain your energy levels, manage your cortisol levels to keep you in good mental health, to build strength and preserve balance and of course to keep your weight in a healthy range with good metabolism and heart function.

When I think of self-care and movement, I think how does my movement help me to maintain a healthy body weight, maintain bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis, or falls in the future; is this movement improving my cardiovascular fitness and reducing the risk of heart disease and dementia.

My personal movement regime includes a combination of weight bearing once a week, to build strength and maintain balance, because I know that during menopause, women experience a loss of up to 25% of their total bone mass. I include cardio most days to get my blood pumping, because I know that that menopause increases our risk of future heart health issues and yet currently in Australia almost every hour of every day one Australian woman dies of heart disease. But it is not all go, go, go, I include exercise, such as yoga and gardening once a week for the total mind-body workout, because during the menopause transition the risk of depression increases by three times, and this is a of particular concern with the highest rate of female suicide being during the perimenopause years of 45-49, so I want to make sure that I am centred and grounded. When I have all these movement types in my weekly flow, I am exercising self-care.

Mindset Matters More Than Ever During Menopause.

It’s what helps you to navigate the tough days, celebrate the small wins, find joy, and rediscover strength you didn’t even know you had, however one of the first symptoms that women experience during the transition is anxiety, some women will also experience depression, and there are diagnosis, such as ADHD, ASD, Cancers, or aging parent responsibilities you were not expecting. The compounding mental load of this stage of life can bring about a sense of overwhelm and lead to behaviours that are counteractive to self-care.

I struggled with mindset as I navigated the early stages of my menopause journey, and aging parent responsibilities, were an unexpected factor and I was not alone in this experience. In fact, 25% of women are on antidepressants, with mental health being the leading cause of disability for women in Australia. Right now, 43% of women are experiencing mental health concerns. I realised on my darkest days, that there is a light in all of us. We need to find that and harness it, every way we can, and live our life as positively charged as possible.

Mindset starts with being a positive thinker! I do my best, and I make the best out of every situation. I focus on what I can control and let go of what I can’t. Every situation is a lesson and an opportunity for improvement. This simple practice means you are not taking on stress and inflammation in your body, which is a huge exercise in self-care, and will help you to get the sleep you need at night and manage your day without intense reactions.

We are bombarded with messages of do more, be more, time is running out; however, a fabulous form of self-care during menopause, especially if you are struggling with brain fog is to be mindful. I do this by simply slowing down, stopping if I need to, making a list, and taking my time to be present. Latest research suggests that mindfulness can help with symptoms such as stress, anxiety and other mental-health conditions during menopause.

I also combine the above mindset self-care suggestions with colour and crystals, meditation, gratitude, and generosity (GG) and breathwork.

Implement the Modify Rule

I say rule, because this is where you make boundaries and have the courage to say no! That is no longer serving me, then and make the changes you need. It can be confronting, and challenging for lots of reasons, but just make the first step.

This process of self-care starts with looking at what is within your power to modify. For me it has been about relearning sleep hygiene. You should have a good regular sleep routine, so that you get around 7-8 hours; sleep is just as important as your movement, so modify to prioritise it.

I thought I had a healthy well-balanced diet, but I need to modify it to increase the food best suited to my changing hormones and reduce alcohol, caffeine and sugar that were causing inflammation, messing with my sleep and mental health.

I made new agreements with myself and the self-talk; my husband of nearly 30 years, about who does what around the house and with our life admin; I made new agreements with friends too, like not going for drinks on a Friday night, because I developed an alcohol intolerance, so instead we walk, bike ride or garden over the weekend. I have taken up new hobbies and made new acquaintances and broadened my networks and community as a result. I work my day job, during normal business hours (not at 10pm anymore!) and I see the sunrise every Sunday morning, after a good night’s sleep!

Self-care during menopause comes down to you and putting yourself in the driver’s seat for your self-care. The best part of the Movement, Mindset, Modify® mantra is you get to choose the combination of things; little tweaks, adjustments, trials, micro doses, and big gulps, of what works for your personal holistic approach to self-care, to keep you as Positively Charged as possible…

By Megan (Mimi Moon) Hayward, Meno Concierge

About the author

I am a licensed menopause expert and the founder of Mimi Moon Meno, a pioneering menopause concierge service dedicated to guiding women through one of life’s most challenging transitions.

With a successful career in the property industry, my personal journey through perimenopause ignited a mission to bring visibility to a subject too often kept in the shadows. Initially attributing my symptoms to stress and burnout, I faced years of misdiagnoses before uncovering the true cause: perimenopause.

Today, I speak with passion and authority on the untold realities women face every day and how we can take charge and change the conversation around menopause. I speak about the critical intersections between menopause, divorce, and the housing crisis, emphasising the alarming rise in homelessness among older women.

Through Mimi Moon Meno, I lead transformative workshops for organizations, empowering women to reclaim their health and voice during this life stage.

My mission is to challenge the stigma, elevate awareness, and advocate for systemic change, ensuring that no woman has to face this journey alone and I spoke at the 2024 Senate Inquiry into Menopause in Australia and have been quoted multiple times in the report that was handed down.